I need someone to explain to me how this is supposed to work.

Donald Trump says the United States of America is going to cut off aid to three Central American nations — Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — because too many people are fleeing those countries; they want to enter the United States illegally.

The aid totals something around $450 million.

So, they are fleeing their countries because their living conditions are so horrible they no longer consider them safe havens. They are plagued by gang violence. These individuals, whole families, are fleeing to escape.

Isn’t this so-called strategy only inflaming the problems that are causing people to flee? Is the president directing his punitive measures in the wrong direction?

I agree with the president that government officials in those countries need to do more to crack down on gang violence. Isn’t this where diplomatic pressure could be put to good use? Talk to these officials, offer them the best assistance we can provide. Work with them; do not cut them off and then walk away.

This foreign-aid cutoff, though, seems counterproductive — not to mention counterintuitive. 

Is the president simply playing yet again to his base that seems to believe we “spend too much” on foreign aid already?

That is what it looks like to me.